The £19million deal is for Granit Xhaka’s international teammate, Ricardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a left-back that can also play as a left midfielder and his arrival would surely spell the end of Kieran Gibbs career at Arsenal.

Rodriguez missed Switzerland training this week for unknown reasons and it is thought he could have been sorting out a transfer to The Emirates.

Rodriguez has a £19million release clause that becomes active on June 1st (today) and will be active for the entire month of June. It is thought that Arsenal may try and activate that clause early in the month in order to sign Rodriguez before other clubs get involved.

Rodriguez turns 24 in August and he is thought of as amongst the best young left-backs in Europe. Although Nacho Monreal has been excelling at left-back, Monreal will turn 31 next season and it seems The Gunners no longer believe that Kieran Gibbs can succeed the Spaniard. Rodriguez is a quicker, more attacking left-back option to Monreal and the pair could be alternated throughout next season, with the view for Rodriguez to become first choice the following season.

It’s ‘silly season’ and as we try to keep you up to date with all the latest rumours, we’ll be bringing you...

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A blog from the fans for the fans. Born in April 2012, Fresh Arsenal started as a community on Twitter where aspiring journalists would come together and share their articles. Fresh Arsenal gathers the best articles and pairs it with interesting news and gossip to create our Fresh look on Arsenal.